Category Archives: Charity

Legends: Next Gen @Sonoma County Wine Library – Nov 10th!

Meet The Future of Sonoma County Wine – Legends: Next Gen

After a three-year pause, the Sonoma County Wine Library is bringing back its Sonoma County Wine Legends event on Thursday, November 10th, 6:30 pm at the Steele Lane Community Center (415 Steele Ln) in Santa Rosa. (Photo credit Christopher Cheung/PD)

Moderated by Sommelier Christopher Sawyer, Legends: Next Gen will feature a panel discussion of these legends in the making, five next-generation professionals of the local wine community:

This fundraiser for the Sonoma County Wine Library includes wine pouring with charcuterie platter, and silent auction featuring special wines, gifts, and wine-country experiences. Early bird TICKETS are $45 for members and $60 for non-members, and $55 and $70 respectively after October 31st.

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Chef Laura Pauli Shares The Love On THE VARIETAL SHOW!

THE VARIETAL SHOW has a great visit with one of our favorite chefs, Laura Pauli, fresh off her volunteer work in Ukraine. There she helped World Central Kitchen for a few months serving the citizens with love & dignity! She treats us to an 1875 Angelica Wine, and we also share some Cain Rose OTO & Cirq Pinot Noir.

LIKE, SHARE & FOLLOW my You Tube channel, for notification about upcoming episodes, most Tuesdays @12:30pm!

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#HWC2021 – The Video Collection!

We had a grand old time at the Home Winemakers Classic in support of Mt Veeder Fire Safe Council! For details and photos check out my previous post, but scroll down here for two of my spectacular winemaker interviews, featured on The Varietal Show, and a replay of the entire HWC event from July 17th!

You can also watch my Instragram interviews (@sawyersommelier) with Shari Staglin: Staglin Family Vineyard, Steve Sando: Rancho Gordo Beans, Angelina Mondavi: Dark Matter Wines & Walter Hamlin: Oakville Wine Merchant!

#HWC2021 Raises Funds To Protect Mt Veeder From Fires!

Fantastic results for a noble cause!

For more than 30 years, the Home Winemakers Classic has generated funding in support of fire safety for the Mount Veeder neighborhood in Napa Valley via a silent auction and a raffle. The virtual event was filmed at The Hess Collection Estate to raise critical funds for the Mt Veeder Fire Safe Council.

Mark Ibanez, Sports Director for KTVU Channel 2, and I discussed of some of the amazing Wine Auction Lots up for grabs, showed several short documentaries I did with my good friends at Lagier Meredith Vineyard, Judd’s Hill and MicroCrush. Concluding with announcement of the winner of the prestigious Nathan Fay Award for the 37th Annual Home Winemakers Classic!

Fabulous photos and Instragram interviews (@sawyersommelier) with Shari Staglin: Staglin Family Vineyard, Steve Sando: Rancho Gordo Beans, Angelina Mondavi: Dark Matter Wines & Walter Hamlin: Oakville Wine Merchant, are up now: Videos from our show will be here in a few days so plan to come back soon!

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Make C. Elizabeth Your Virtual Valentine!

The Varietal Show this week is a broadcast I moderated for a spectacular new boutique winery! Not only did I get the pleasure of tasting and talking about C. Elizabeth, but they are also making some noise due to their special fundraising project: From now until March 15, 2021, 50% of all sales of the 2017 C. Elizabeth Game Farm Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is being donated to Napa Valley Community Foundation 

So show them some BIG LOVE and watch my tasting to find out more! Cheers, Christopher

Sawyer Somm Birthday Fire Relief Fundraiser Pizza Party! November 2nd

A socially distanced Pizza Party at Gravenstein Grill celebrating my birthday – benefiting the Sonoma Resilience Fund! Monday, November 2nd, 5-8pm

RESERVE YOUR SEATS HERE! Pizza, Wine & a Full Bar will be available. Groups must be 10 or fewer and be pre-reserved to maintain social distance. Each group will receive their own table.

Allen Wines & Bucher Wines will be pouring at the event as well as a cash bar: 50% of all ticket sales goes directly to the resilience fund!

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8050 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol, CA 95472
(707) 634-6142

Music & Wine: Virtual Benefit Concert Sept 9th!

Local winery Three Sticks in partnership with Arrington Vineyards of Tennessee to bring you this Virtual Benefit Concert Experience: For Musicians by Musicians on Sept 9th, 5:30 PST. Hosted by Bill Price, Laurence Hobgood, and Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn, this free concert will be an evening of dancing, philanthropy, and of course wine that is not to be missed! REGISTER HERE!

EXTRA BONUS: The Arrington Vineyard KB 11*17 bottles, especially autographed for this event, are on sale now as well as Three Stick’s concert pack. Proceeds benefit Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund to help musicians in need.

Extra-Extra Bonus? Watch CellarPass TV with Arrington Vineyards which aired in April, featuring Sawyer Somm. Stay tuned for more episodes coming this fall, ENJOY!

Positive vibes from the Super Bowl and Miami Food & Wine Culture

Although it’s hard to believe: When Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami came to an end, everyone came out a winner. In the case of the Kansas City Chiefs, their dramatic 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers marked the team’s first Super Bowl win in 50 years. And, despite the disappointing loss to wine country locals, the game also capped off an amazing season for the 49ers: a young, talented team which made the miraculous transformation from a 4-12 record in 2018 to a 13-3 mark this past year, coupled with two convincing wins in the playoffs, which earned them the opportunity to compete for the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy on the 100-year anniversary of the NFL.

Beyond the players, the other big winners were the 49er Faithful, as well fans from the Chief’s Kingdom, and the over 6,000 members of the media attending the game on February 2, who also had special opportunities to explore the fabulous food and wine culture that has blossomed in the greater Miami area since the Niners won their last Super Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in 1995.

I am happy to say, I have been following the delicious wave of new culinary delights since I began judging the American Fine Wine Competition, which takes place every January at the Chaplin Center for Hospitality, on the campus of Florida International University in North Miami. To make this year more special, I got a taste of what 49er and Chiefs fans could expect with my fellow wine pals Charlie Arturola, Jacqueline Coleman, Peg San Felippo, Roberto Columbia, Wendy Rosano, Stu Nudelman, Henry Escobar and other judges attending the AFWC’s 13th Annual One Thousand Bottles: Sipping Through America, a special gathering held at the Chaplin Center on the FIU campus exactly two weeks before the kick-off of Super Bowl LIV.

In a nutshell: this fabulous event gives consumers, sommeliers, retailers, wine pros, and members of the media a rare opportunity to taste the top wines we judged earlier in the day, while sampling exquisite delicacies prepared by South Florida’s best restaurants and food purveyors, as well as newly released wines being poured by special guests from West Coast wineries. As an extra touch of class, proceeds from the get-together are donated to charity. And since 2007, AFWC has raised more than $1,000,000 for these local charities, including the Miami Dolphinsadmirable collaboration with the Tackle Cancer organization.

Standout bites at this year’s event included: a stunning array of fresh seafood delights from Krudo; a lobster sandwich on top of a purple Peruvian potato from The Blue at the Boca Resort; juicy, tender and smoky morsels from Nature’s Cut Organic & Grass Feed Beef, which raised in Uruguay and imported to Miami; and a very Pinot-friendly mushroom crudité from star Chef Stefano LaCava, who prepared the fantastic judges dinner the night before.

These and more tasty offerings provided by Cvltvra Restaurant, Ortanique, The Crepe Maker, Cooper’s Hawk, Nature’s Cut, Gatsby’s Joint, A Flair For Fudge and El Brazo Fuerte Bakery were also paired with delicious wines poured by our friends from DAOU Family Estates, Trujillo Wines, Hagafen Cellars, Kestrel Vintners, Staura Cellars, A. Torano Family Vineyards, Yount Ridge, Shadowbox Cellars and Bricoleur Vineyards during the event.

As the fun continued, I was able to savor more fine wines with Napa Valley vintners Chris and Shannon Hyde of Hyde Estate, Mike Henry from Acre Wine, FIU-grad Stephanie Honig of Honig Vineyards and Winery, as well as my other great pals Ali Nemo and Andy Du Vigneaud of Bee Hunter Wines of Anderson Valley. All this, while watching the 49ers punch their way to Super Bowl LIV with their convincing NFC Championship victory over the Green Bay Packers, which was broadcast on monitors in the Chaplin Center.

The following day, we judged the final rounds of the competition, which culminated with the sweepstakes round that matched the Best of Class wines in a head-to-head showdown in each category. Here are the big winners at the AFWC 2020:

  • Sparkling Wine: Mumm Napa NV Brut Prestige, Napa Valley
  • White Wine: Castello di Amarosa 2018 Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley
  • Red Wine: Papapietro Perry 2016 Pinot Noir, Pommard Clone, Russian River Valley
  • Sweet Wine: Ferrante 2017 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, Grand River Valley, OH

The full details on all the Double Gold, Gold and Silver medal winners will be listed on the American Fine Wine Competition website soon.  Coming soon, look for my story about two special restaurants I visited during my visit to Miami in mid-January!

Postponed—Wine Wednesday for Sawyer’s 50th & November Schedule Updates

Recent events call for an updated schedule.  There will be NO WINE WEDNESDAY on October 30th, due to the Sebastopol power outage, recent evacuations and ongoing Kincade Fire!

The new date is November 13th (details below), and will additionally support the Sonoma County Resilience Fund, which supports our community’s recovery by helping individuals impacted by the fires, healing the long-term effects of trauma, and creating housing solutions for our community.

So plan to trek on over to Gravenstein Grill in Sebastopol to experience any Wine Wednesday tasting in November!  It is weekly in the Bartlett Bar from 5:30-7pm, and an excellent opportunity to enjoy a free wine tasting with a local wine producer, see schedule below:

November 6Preston Farm & Winery

November 13th: Sommelier Chris Sawyer celebrates his 50th with the GG crew and four special vintners!  Breaking Bread Wines, Kokomo Winery, Radio-Coteau, Bacigalupi Vineyards
Wear a costume, taste some wine and come give cheers to Sawyer Somm!!!

November 20People’s Wine Revolution

8050 Bodega Ave
Sebastopol, California

Pinots & Plaid in SF on October 26th!

Mark your calendar for this First Annual Pinots & Plaid “Best of the Best” Pinot Noir Tasting, featuring 25 leading Pinot Noir producers from Northern California.

Wine lovers, foodies and luxury connoisseurs are invited to enjoy fine wines paired with high end cuisine in the historic, stunningly restored, Hibernia Bank Building, at 1 Jones Street, in San Francisco.
A VIP reception will offer one-on-one conversation with winemakers from 2p.m. to 3 p.m.,  followed by a General Admission reception from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The VIP Lounge Sponsored by San Francisco Magazine & Roederer Estate will feature Sparkling Wine & Caviar and will be open from 3:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. VIP ticket holders and sponsors will enjoy Roederer Estate Sparkling Wines paired with caviar from The Caviar Company in an intimate setting.

Well-known, premium brands including Anthill Farms Winery, Blue Farm, Bucher, CIRQ, Clarice Wine Co., Cobb Wines, Copain Wines, Coursey Graves, Dunstan, Dutton Goldfield, Freeman Vineyard & Winery, Gary Farrell, Hyde Estate, Kutch, Lando, Maggy Hawk, Peay Vineyards, Red Car, Reeve, Roederer Estate, Sangiacomo Vineyards, Sojourn Cellars, Stewart Cellars, Texture Wine, Three Sticks, Williams Selyem and Works & Days will showcase rare wines not typically available to the public.

Featuring rare and newly released wines from The Russian River Valley, Anderson Valley, Sonoma and Napa, the event is expected to draw an audience of approximately 500 guests from around the Bay Area. A portion of ticket sales will benefit two San Francisco charities: Meals on Wheels SF and Mission Graduates. Tickets are available on

Pinot & Plaid Tickets are $185 VIP and $115 General Admission